The people of China are livid at the Chinese Communist Party for a variety of reasons. A falling economy, blatant disregard for the value of human life, oppression, curbs on all freedoms and the promotion of a work culture that best resembles sweatshops – the Chinese have had just about enough of the CCP. Now, with the United States’ withdrawal and the subsequent falling of Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, the CCP regime is jubilant. The Chinese citizens, however, are appalled that their regime is supporting an extremist violent organisation that beheads people, publicly executes them, oppresses women and kills minorities.
Recently, when asked about the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, the CCP made it look like the capture of Kabul by the organisation actually epitomised the wishes of ordinary Afghan people. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying pretended as though the events unfolding in Afghanistan had not been brought about by violent Taliban militants, but instead had popular backing of the people. She said, “We respect the will and choice of the Afghan people.”
The people of China are, however, not impressed. This was brought to light more so by the CCP’s flagship newspaper, People’s Daily running an article that sought to portray the Taliban as pro-poor and an organisation that grew out of resistance to the ruling class in the country. In a Weibo post titled, “What Kind of Organization is the Taliban?” the CCP-run publication suggested the Taliban had risen as a group comprising “students in refugee camps”. The Taliban had begun, it said, as a group of around 800 people, but then had grown owing to popular support.
Peoples Daily added, “Because it received the support of the poor, the strength of the Taliban grew dramatically.” According to China Media Project, however, the Chinese people did not like this glorification of the Taliban. The post quickly rose to the top of the trending posts roster, becoming the fifth-ranked post on Weibo on Monday. “Why no mention of terrorism?” one user asked in a Weibo comment on the post. “So it’s a good thing to behead people?” another user probed.
A third user wrote, “You endorse such an anti-human regime. How true to form!”Another outraged user who was flabbergasted seeing the CCP ‘simping all over the Taliban, wrote, “I really don’t understand this. Who deprives women of their legitimate rights as human beings? Who arrests people and beheads them in the streets? Who is the most recognized terrorist organization in the world? Who destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas?” The outrage on the heavily censored Chinese internet forced People’s Daily to delete the post about four hours after it first appeared.
Read more: What China doesn’t understand is that Taliban is not Hamas; they are just monkeys with Kalashnikovs
The people of China are frustrated with the CCP. The Chinese Communist Party simply keeps making life more difficult for them. Of late, Xi Jinping has been making all the wrong choices. With increasing Chinese belligerence, the possibility of a conflict breaking out on almost all Chinese military theatres simultaneously cannot be ruled out. This directly impacts the lives of Chinese people and jeopardises their livelihoods. China can face conflicts with India, Taiwan, U.S., Japan and just about every country in the South China Sea.
Chinese citizens have expressed concerns that the Communist Party, which marked the 100th anniversary of its founding last month, has ruined the image of the nation and hindered personal relationships with the people of Japan. They have also expressed concern that Beijing’s alleged intellectual property theft and human rights violations in Xinjiang may drive more Japanese companies out of the Chinese market.
According to a survey conducted between September and October of last year, 45.2 per cent of Chinese had a ‘favourable’ opinion of Japan. Since comparison data became available in 2005, this was the second-highest proportion. Yet, the CCP keeps pursuing conflict with Japan, despite the Chinese people having a very high opinion of the Japanese.
China knows it has gotten itself in an awkward situation in Afghanistan. By appearing to side completely with the Taliban, China has placed its bets on the organisation very prematurely. Xi Jinping knows he has landed China in a soup, which is why he first sought to placate Russia by having Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi urge Moscow to strengthen its strategic dialogue with China on the Afghanistan situation. Wang Yi also pleaded that Russia and China should work together to save each other’s interests in the region and both the countries should pursue “friendly relations” with the Taliban.
Thereafter, the CCP took to saying that the U.S. should now take responsibility and exchange co-operation with China on Afghanistan. This proves China finds itself isolated and lonely due to its open support for the Taliban.
China is taking a wrong stand vis-à-vis Afghanistan. The Chinese people abhor the Taliban, while the CCP is practically joining hands with the organisation. By forcing the Peoples Daily to delete its post over the Taliban, the Chinese people have sent a resounding message to the CCP.